old55

Interesting that the coach thought the best place for ANB, aerobically fittest at the club, was on the bench with rookies Pickett and Baker when the heat was on in the final minutes.

FYI ... Average Attributes Melbourne Attribute Fremantle 188.0cm Height 188.0cm 87.8kg Weight 88.6kg 24yr 11mth Age 25yr 1mth 78.9 Games 92.8 Total Players By Games Melbourne Games Fremantle 8 Less than 50 7 6 50 to 99 8 5 100 to 149 3 3 150 or more 4

Wow you're more confident of a good outcome this week than me.

With our loss and the Dogs win we're only the proverbial "mathematical possibility" now. Hard to argue we should be in ahead of them anyway after ther beat us easily.

There's 10 changes from the side that played the Dogs 2 matches ago. But all of the core is intact. I hope Harmes, Jones and ANB have some midfield minutes and give the core midfield some respite - Oliver and Viney understandably look tired - they both willed themselves to lift in the last quarter against Sydney which was great but they must be low on petrol tickets. Weid is going to feeling beaten up too flying in all those contests. I would seriously have considered Preuss for Gawn.

Outs make sense. I'm not a Smith or ANB fan but hope they do well, it's a good opportunity for them to show their value.

Norf supporters on BF were gleefully "death-riding" MFC for the 1st round pick we traded to them - that thread has gone a bit quiet now. I think they fell off a couple of weeks ago and have their foot caught in the stirrup and are getting dragged through the dust. At least they'll the picks they dreamed of at the start of the year - 2 & a pick in the teens, but I don't think they'll get them the way they hoped. Maybe we should have a "Death riding Hawthorn's 2nd round pick" thread to show them how it's done.

If we can't win it then I dearly hope it's Brisbane defeat West Coast.

Like @Jumping Jack Clennett said - I feel dirty even thinking about barracking for West Coast. West Coast v Essendon - thankfully I forgot it was even on until I got up this morning.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/493042/cal-twomey-s-2020-phantom-form-guide-september-update

Cal Twomey's intial top 25 is on the AFL site now. 5 of the top 15 and 8 of the 25 are Academy picks.

Yes I think so. Heeney stood on his head for a mark in our FP "right in front of me".

I've still got nightmares from R21 loss at the MCG in 2018 which meant we needed to beat WC in Perth to make the finals. Deja vu all over again here ...

Watched the last 2 minutes again. Dean Kent got 2 of his 9 disposals in the last minute. Maybe the zenith of his career will be that goal he kicked for us in Perth in 2018. Was seen barracking hard against us vs North in the last round of 2019, he either hates us or had a wager on the game ...

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I think it was a goal, but quite frankly I'd be happy if it was touched before the line and the call was wrong and we still won. It will become our Wayne Harmes moment when we go on to win this year's flag and the Saints miss the 8.

That loss to the Cats that @Delusional demon 82 referred to above was the most devastating H&A loss I can recall - it gutted me. If Kent had kicked the sealer on Saturday night after a 50 I think that would have topped it.

Saints lose to Eagles and Giants. Dogs lose to Eagles. We win 2.

The wrist grab is a relatively recent and deliberate innovation. It's pretty obvious when it happens and would not be too difficult to umpire.

One rule change which would aid the ball winner and protect the head would be to ban grabbing the ball player by the wrist. It would still ok to pin the arms but no grasping the wrist. That's a very effective tactic that has potentially dangerous consequences and makes it too hard for the ball player to complete a legal disposal.

I think we need a squad mentality in this next set of 3 games. I think our starting midfield needs some respite. I'd play Harmes in his former midfield role and retain Petracca, Oliver, Viney and Brayshaw but give them less minutes. That will probably keep Jones in the team despite his 2nd quarter coach killer error. Maybe ANB for midfield minutes, he was talked up in the scratch match. i'd be tempted to play Preuss in place of Maxy, it's Sinclair/Allir this week and Darcy/Lobb next weekend so it would have to be against Sydney I think. Brown and Wagner were fine - We're not going to drop a bloke that went back with the flight like that and then got straight back up and took the next mark (not paid because of some unrelated free). JWags started out fumbly and I thought here we go, but he tightened up and played his best game for a few years. Spargo's tackling pressure was good and as @PaulRB said - our zone was good so our whole team must've worked hard off the ball unseen on TV. Kossie's pressure is good but he needs to take responsibility and win the ball, he's overawed as his tap on to Petracca showed. Just grab the thing, turn on the after burners and kick the goal. He also falls over too much. Hopefully he's being coached on this. I'd give CWags, Bedford or Chandler a run in his place at least this week. I thought Tomlinson was good, he was just solid and effective which is what we'd be hoping for. AVB was MIA until the last quarter. Fritsch has might come in for him. Lockhart for the injured Hibberd. I'd retain Oscar for structure and what he enables May and Lever to do. But they might opt for Tomlinson back there again because the Swans aren't as tall as the Saints up forward. I'm not a Smith or Hunt fan.

Brought May, Langdon, Lever and Tomlinson to the club who were all very good tonight.

Massive win. What a great effort against all odds. Petracca vs St.Kilda -how sweet that is.

Copper no doubt mined in your great state. He's been a naughty boy. That's all I know.

Sandra Sully with the late news. I know there's a time difference over there Steve but try to keep up.